Bush to Buckingham Palace , livre ebook

Ryan Publishing - Rick Darling

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101 pages

English

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Description

Rick Darling was an extremely talented cricketer who loved to hook and cut the quick bowlers. He was a tremendous player of spin bowling and one of the best cover fielders in world cricket.
There is no doubt he was one of the most popular players of his time with both his teammates and opposition players. He was an absolute pleasure to be around, and I'm sure everyone will enjoy this book about the lighter side of his life, and his life in cricket.

Sujets

Sport

Autour du sport

Histoire du sport

Personal Memoirs

Biography

Autobiography

Informations

Publié par	Ryan Publishing
Date de parution	01 juillet 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781876498993
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0400€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

First published 2022 by Ryan Publishing
PO Box 7680, Melbourne, 3004
Victoria, Australia
Ph: 61 3 9505 6820
Email: books@ryanpub.com
Website: www.ryanpub.com

Title: Bush to Buckingham Palace: Crazy adventures of fun-loving test cricketer Rick Darling
Paperback: 9781876498986
eBook: 9781876498993
Copyright © 2022. Rick Darling.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publisher.
Internal and cover design by Luke Harris, Working Type
Studio, Victoria, Australia. www.workingtype.com.au
Edited by Graeme Ryan
Illustrations by Tavis O’Hazy Robertson
Back cover image: Rick Darling and Kim Hughes enter the Australian rooms at lunch on the second day of the Fourth Test against England at the SCG on 7 January 1979.
After lunch, Rick went on to make his best Test score of 91 and was top scorer for Australia.
He featured in a partnership of 125 with Hughes followed by one of 52 with his captain, Graham Yallop.
Words of Wisdom
“You probably won’t remember the games you have played, if you win or lose, if you have performed or not, but what you will remember are the good times and camaraderie with your mates.”
Bob Simpson, Australian Cricket Captain, Barbados, 1978.
“And now that time advances
And evening shadows fall
Persuasion from the family
To summarise it all.
‘Just write it down,’ in chorus,
They say around the table,
‘Preserve these stories for us,
While with us fit and able.’”
Arch Grosvenor 1983
Acknowledgements
This book is dedicated to my wife, Tania, and our children, Shannon, Zoe and Sam. Their interest and insistence prompted me to put on paper some of the stories that I had shared with them.
Trevor Gill for his expertise as an author and in journalism for the Introduction. His generosity, editing, mentoring and encouragement have been pivotal in the creation of this book. The assistance I sought from him has equated to many months of enjoyable learning for me.
Graeme Wood for writing the Foreword. He knew me better than anyone during my playing days. His words are appreciated.
Tavis O’Hazy Robertson for the skilful, comical sketches that he has produced.
Many other acquaintances have jolted my memory which have led to the writing of many of these reminiscences.
I have tried to present the stories in a chronological, factual manner, and apologise for any errors and omissions.
Rick Darling, Adelaide, 2022.
Rick’s Test Batting Statistics Span Mat Runs HS Bat Av 1978-1979 14 697 91 26.80
MATCH BY MATCH LIST Bat1 Bat2 Runs Ct Opposition Ground Start Date 65 56 121 0 India Adelaide 28 Jan 1978 4 8 12 1 West Indies Bridgetown 17 Mar 1978 15 0 15 0 West Indies Georgetown 31 Mar 1978 10 6 16 0 West Indies Port of Spain 15 Apr 1978 25 5 30 0 England Perth 15 Dec 1978 33 21 54 2 England Melbourne 29 Dec 1978 91 13 104 1 England Sydney 6 Jan 1979 15 18 33 1 England Adelaide 27 Jan 1979 75 79 154 0 Pakistan Perth 24 Mar 1979 7 DNB 7 0 India Bengaluru 19 Sep 1979 59 4 63 0 India Kanpur 2 Oct 1979 19 7 26 0 India Delhi 13 Oct 1979 39 7 46 0 India Kolkata 26 Oct 1979 16 0* 16 0 India Wankhede 3 Nov 1979
Contents
Acknowledgements
Rick’s Test Batting Statistics
Foreword by Graeme Wood
Introduction by Trevor Gill
1. The Old Holden
2. From ball to bat to friendship
3. “I’ll fix it.”
4. Rookie
5. Damn seagulls!
6. From strike to the Sheffield Shield
7. Chappell v Lillee
8. Big Clacka
9. A Long Way for a Game of Cricket
10. Ripped Off
11. Hilton Respite
12. Wrestling
13. Froth and Bubbles
14. Buckets
15. 21 Today
16. Riot
17. Scooters
18. Her Majesty
19. Paddy Wagon
20. Fireworks
21. “Got to go Baz.”
22. Fly Home
23. Short Cut
24. Slippery Fellow
25. Barramundi and Crocs
26. Lost in Lancashire
27. Saint David’s
28. No Payment Accepted
29. R&R
30. A Tribute
31. Good friends and great adventures
32. A Special Mention
Conclusion
Foreword
Graeme Wood
T o be asked to contribute to someone’s book and more importantly to write the Foreword of a book of a fellow Test cricketer, teammate and great friend is a real honour.
Warrick Maxwell Darling, the boy from Waikerie, a rural town in the Riverland region of South Australia with a current population of around 2,650, came from a tremendous cricket heritage with ‘great uncle’ Joe Darling and Prince Alfred College, where the Chappell brothers were educated.
I first met Rick two days prior to the fifth and deciding Test match against India in Adelaide in January 1978. We had both been selected to make our Test debuts, Rick aged 20 and myself aged 21, we had a brief introduction in the nets and told we would be opening the innings together. We were both very excited about the prospect and couldn’t wait for the Test to commence.
Australia won the toss, and we were going to bat on day one. I was ready, sitting, trying to relax as much as I could when suddenly Rick disappeared into the toilets, vomiting profusely due to his nervous state. Fortunately, he recovered and out we went, I’ll never forget the walk down through the members area onto the Adelaide Oval, we shared an 89-run partnership, and we won the Test and the series. I immediately knew I had met and played with a mate I would have for the remainder of my cricket career and life in general.
Following the Adelaide Test, we toured the West Indies where we roomed together for the whole three months and became very close, both having similar interests and very much similar senses of humour. We played together in eight Test matches, numerous One Day Internationals and roomed together on an arduous tour of India in 1979. I’m sure this book will feature some of the experiences from both overseas tours.
Rick was an extremely talented cricketer, loved to hook and cut the quick bowlers, would have been a sensation if playing all his cricket at the WACA Ground, and was a tremendous player of spin bowling. He was recognised as one of the best cover fielders in world cricket, but as I alluded to, he was acutely nervous and had the misfortune of suffering several serious injuries very early in his international career. I’m sure if he had the support mechanisms available in world cricket today, would have played far more cricket for Australia.
Our first tour to the West Indies had 16 players and one manager, no other support staff, no coach, no doctor, no physio, etc. I saw a recent photograph of the Indian team touring the UK for the ICC Test Championship, they had 17 players and 20 support staff!
There is no doubt Warrick Maxwell Darling was one of the most popular players of his time for South Australia and Australia, with both his teammates and opposition players. He was an absolute pleasure to be around, and I’m sure everyone will enjoy this read and the explanation of the lighter side of his life and his life in cricket.
Thanks for the memories, mate.
Introduction
Trevor Gill, Adelaide. 2021.
A s a young journalist with The News in Adelaide, one of my clear memories was being dispatched to the Riverland settlement of Ramco to interview Rick Darling. Rick had just been selected for his Sheffield Shield debut with the South Australian team and his rise to first-class cricket was an enticing story about a boy from the bush playing his way towards the pinnacle of his sport.
The shy 18-year-old who photographer Dennis Rogers and I met at Ramco was at first a little reluctant about stepping into the media spotlight having only recently graduated from playing for Waikerie to district cricket with Salisbury.
The idea of a picture batting in front of an upturned grape tin for a wicket with a few mates in the slips was enough to make him feel comfortable. Well, he wasted no time belting a few balls into the orchard at square leg!
On that same day in Ramco, Rick’s mother, Lyla, recalled, “When he was born the doctor phoned my husband and didn’t tell him he had a son. He just said there was a new cricketer in the family.” Rick’s dad, Max, responded, “I gave that kid a bloody cricket bat when he was two years old, and I used to throw ping pong balls at him. I couldn’t get him out then, and I’m damned if I can now!”
Rick admitted to a little case of nerves about his debut for South Australia against Queensland at Adelaide Oval in November 1975. Although he did not make a lot of runs in that match, it was memorable because his baptism at the crease was a missile attack from Jeff Thompson, arguably the world’s fastest bowler. It was the beginning of a sporting journey that took Rick to the Australian team as an opening batsman and brilliant cover fieldsman, but also to a series of life-threatening cricket injuries that prematurely ended his Test career at 23 years of age.
Just as we had predicted on that dusty pitch by a meander of the Murray River five years earlier, Rick’s rise to an outstanding career in first class cricket and in a sadly limited number of Test matches became a remarkable story of heroism under fire.
Almost five decades after we first met, Rick has not changed much from his laconic days in Riverland cricket playing with his knockabout mates answering to curious names like Alley Cat, Guts, Bucky, Punk, Crumby, Bub and Lordy. Having survived the toughest school of hard knocks, he has some wonderful memories of great characters and events in the game at all levels.
This book is a collection of some of those memories, some happy and others sad, yet all-defining about the make-up of Warrick Maxwell Darling with insights into the pressures and joys of playing the game of cricket.
As an introduction to Rick’s souvenir thoughts and impressions, the following briefly outlines his career. It features excerpts from an article I wrote about Rick that appeared among other player profiles in the SACA’s 150th anniversary